“Others may notice pain late in the day when they have been on their feet, during exercise or when trying to bend down to perform everyday activities. Still others may experience severe pain.”

However, if a hernia in the abdominal area is large enough, the protruding organ can become strangulated within the muscle or tissue fibers, cutting off the blood supply or obstructing the bowel. This rare occurrence can be serious and requires emergency surgery.

What are the most common types of hernias?

Inguinal: These occur when fat, the intestine or the bladder protrudes through the abdominal wall or into the inguinal canal in the groin. This is by far the most common type of groin hernia, and most occur in men.

Femoral: These develop when the intestine enters the canal carrying the femoral artery into the upper thigh. This type of groin area hernia is most common in women.

Incisional: This type of hernia, also called a ventral hernia, appears when the intestine pushes through the abdominal wall at the site of previous abdominal surgery.

Umbilical: These occur when the small intestine passes through the abdominal wall near the navel. They are most common in newborns and pregnant women.

Hiatal: This type of hernia happen when the upper portion of the stomach squeezes through the hiatus, an opening in the diaphragm through which the esophagus passes.

What treatments are available?

Watchful waiting:
Small hernias that don’t affect one’s quality of life and are asymptomatic can be observed until a patient is worried about the risk of it growing larger or the hernia becomes symptomatic.

Surgical repair:
If the hernia needs repair, the hole can be closed with sutures or with surgical mesh, which is a woven sheet of either synthetic material or tissue from a cow or pig. Surgery may also be performed with a combination of sutures and surgical mesh.

What should you expect with surgical repair?

The repair method used by surgeons depends on the type of hernia, its size and location.

Open surgery:
Larger hernias in the abdominal wall and those that require abdominal wall reconstruction (which may be needed when hernias are large and recur in the same location) are done under general anesthesia through a larger incision. Patients may stay in the hospital two to five days.

Recovery takes two to four weeks, with no strenuous exercise or heavy lifting for six weeks. Normal activity can be resumed when the patient is feeling well, usually in about two weeks.

Seeking treatment for constipation, urinary retention and prostate issues may also help minimize hernia symptoms or recurrence, he says.

And if you do have hernia repair, following these guidelines will help ensure a successful recovery and prevent a recurrence.

“There are a number of different types of hernias and multiple repair techniques,” Hinojosa says. “But the most important factor in getting a good repair is to have a surgeon who is skilled in that particular technique and who also can give you options.”